The Arizona State Sun Devils placed men’s hockey coach Greg Powers on paid leave Wednesday amid an ongoing investigation into a preseason workout that left sophomore Matthew Mayich on life support.
In the meantime, assistant coach Mike Corbett, who was present for the Aug. 20 workout that sent Mayich into heat stroke and has worked under Powers for the past two years, will coach the team during the first two games of the season.
After which, Arizona State will conduct a larger search to determine an interim head coach. But Corbett comes with a good bit of baggage in his own right.
Around three months after Powers hired Corbett in July of 2024, he was pulled over after the back tire of his Jeep Wrangler drove over the curb of a Whataburger he was leaving, and he weaved over a lane line, according to a report from The Athletic.
The arresting officer claimed that Corbett’s breath smelled like beer, he slurred his words, and his eyes were bloodshot. Corbett admitted he had been drinking, telling the officer he’d had two or three Coors Lights in his office. The officer tried to administer a breathalyzer test.
“I’m going to lose my job if I blow into that,” Corbett told the officer. He refused the test.
“I know since I had roughly three beers, I’m going to pull over 0.08 because I had a DUI 15 years ago,” Corbett told the officer. Blood tests later showed blood alcohol levels of 0.091 and 0.094. He pleaded guilty in December 2024 to a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence.
But that’s not all.
Mayich’s family also spoke out against Corbett’s appointment.
“Putting Powers on leave while his best friend of the last decade stays in charge of the locker room doesn’t solve the problem,” they said in a statement to local news station ABC 15.
So not only did Arizona State promote a coach with a sordid past, it also further offended Mayich’s family in the process, and perhaps kept its players in danger.
Well done, Sun Devils.